CTP megemlékezés az 1956-os Forradalomról
Már hónapok óta szerveztük a nagy előadást, amit az amerikaiaknak tartottunk október 19-én, csütörtökön. Le a kalappal János és András előtt, mert amit ők szervezés gyanánt végigcsináltak, az nem emberi. Mindent elintéztek, s nem volt előttük akadály az sem, hogy az előadás délelőttjén kikapcsolták az áramot a színházteremben. A műsort azzal a céllal rendeztük, hogy az amerikaiakkal megismertessük a Forradalom eseményeit, s kicsit átadjuk nekik az érzést, hogy milyen elnyomásban élni.
Nagyon szép számban jelentek meg vendégek, pedig izgultunk, hogy a hóvihar és az 1 hetes áramkimaradás után alig lesznek. Minden egyetem képviseltette magát, de nem hivatalos versenyt a Trocaire nyerte. Onnan jöttek a legtöbben. Gajdos Kati egész este erről beszélt, s nagyon büszke volt a sulijára.
Már órákkal a műsor előtt a helyszínen voltunk, s feldíszítettük a termet. Magyar zászlók mindenhol.
Nekem jutott az a megtiszteltetés, hogy köszöntőszöveget mondjak a vendégeknek. Úgy érzem, elég jól sikerült:
" Dear Distinguished guests, students, teachers and leaders of Canisius College, Medaille College, Trocaire College, University of Buffalo, D’Youville College and Niagara University. It is my pleasure to welcome everybody in this commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. Let me also welcome the members of the Hungarian community of the City of Buffalo. Having experienced this disastrous weather in the past week, it is really a pleasure to have so many people here. I hope that you are doing ok, and wish you all a fast recovery from the damages. We really appreciate that all of you have come here today. We are also very grateful to every college and university that has made it possible for Hungarian students to study in the institutes. I would also like to thank Dr. Peter Forgach, the founder of the Calasanctius Training Program, for devoting a lot of his time to helping us here in Buffalo.
Today we would like to honor those who gave their lives to a cause, which was oppressed for almost half a century, but which also meant the first nail in the coffin of Soviet communism. Fifty years. For most of us, it means a lifetime, but for history it is only a small segment. In the history of Hungary, though, it is one of the longest and most tragic periods. The Hungarian state has gone through a lot of difficult times. 1000 years ago, St. Stephen founded the first Christian state in the heart of Europe. In the course of history, Hungary acted as a buffer state between western civilization and the east. We battled the hordes of Mongolia, held back the Ottoman Empire for 150 years and protected all of Europe from the Turks only to find ourselves a part of the Austrian Habsburg Empire for another 200 years. After World War I, Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory and its population to the neighboring countries. During World War II, up until the country was physically drawn into the fighting by Nazi Germany, Hungary protected its minorities from being sent to concentration camps. Losing the war again, the country had no choice due to its geographical location. Being in Central Europe it automatically became a country occupied by the Soviet Union. Unable to bear the yoke of communism, the people of Hungary revolted against the aggressors on October 23, 1956. Encouraged by the promises of the free world through the broadcasts of Radio Free Europe, the people went to the streets, fought for their freedom and made the Soviets leave the country. In the turmoil of world events, however, the Soviets returned a few days later and crushed the revolution within hours. Hundreds of thousands of people fled the country to the west to find refuge and new homes in free and democratic countries like the United States. The leaders of the Revolution were executed or imprisoned. The people of the country went on to live under Soviet rule until 1989 when the Soviet Union started to collapse.
Now I am standing here as the citizen of a free country with a democratically elected government and would like to celebrate together with you. October 23, 1956, a date, which we’ll never forget. The revolution in which our country was left to fight Communism alone. We forever ponder about whether the free world could have done anything else. That is up to historians to decide."
A köszöntő után a CBS által készített dokumentumfilmet mutattuk be. Számomra ez azért volt sokkoló, mert a filmet 57-ben mutatták be, körbejárta a világot, csak épp Magyarországon mutatták ennek a teljesen ellentétjét. Még én is azt tanultam általános suliban, hogy ellenforradalom így meg úgy.
A dokumentumfilm után Vajtay István, New Brunswickban élő másodgenerációs magyar tartotta. Mesélt a saját élményeiről, s hogy milyen volt úgy felnőni magyarként, hogy soha nem láthattad az óhazát. Felemelő volt, ahogy arról beszélt, hogy miképp tudták megőrizni a magyarságukat itt kint az emberek.
Ezután Péter lánya, Réka zongorázta el Kodálytól a Székely kesergőt, majd egy színész Albert Camus A magyarok vére című művét adta elő, természetesen angol nyelven. Újabb zongoradarab következett. Most már mindkét Forgách iker, Réka és Rózsi is játszott, hisz négykezes következett, méghozzá Schubert Katonai indulója.
A végén még megajándékoztuk a minket szponzoráló embereket egy könyvvel, majd egy rövid szöveggel elbúcsúztam a hallgatóságtól, s közösen elénekeltük a himnuszt.
Ezek voltak a zárószavaim:
"To us October 23 means the same as July 4 means to Americans. The words: Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness are what our parents and grandparents fought for. They were the ones who held these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they would not be able to live in oppression and injustice. They failed but their spirit and their heroism showed an example to other nations. 33 years after the revolution broke out, Hungary declared its independence from the Soviet Union and became a republic. It was a shift of power with no fighting, but a lot of blood was shed in 1956. A lot of blood, which I believe was not shed in vain. The message I have from 1956 is that the people should stand shoulder to shoulder in order to achieve reforms and changes. I learnt it in America that you should not ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. I salute the people who stood on the walls, went to the streets and sacrificed what was the dearest to them to make the country better for future generations. Let me ask those who are here today to stand up so that we can all see them and give them our way of appreciation in the form of a big applause and after that let me ask my fellow Hungarians to sing our national anthem together."
Utána hajnalig buliztunk, megünnepeltük a sikeres előadást. Ilyen nagyszabású ünnepség még nem volt a CTP történetében, s joggal lehet mindenki büszke magára, s nem volt felesleges a műsorba beleölt sok-sok óra megbeszélés és szervezés.
by Totya
posted by jaaanos at
13:09
|
0 comments
